The "And in other news..." thread

[styles]

I find it interesting that it would seem no-one on the interview panel (or however his appointment was chosen) asked for any details of support for the claims he made - they seem to be all taken as fact.
Contrast this with my own experience at B.R., when every modest claim of experience or knowledge on my vacancy application form was scrutinised forensically by the interview panel.

Totally agree.

The athletic and charity claims might go by the wayside but anything relevant to my job will be scrutinised. Not to mentioned national vetting.

 

[najaB]

I find it interesting that it would seem no-one on the interview panel (or however his appointment was chosen) asked for any details of support for the claims he made - they seem to be all taken as fact.
Contrast this with my own experience at B.R., when every modest claim of experience or knowledge on my vacancy application form was scrutinised forensically by the interview panel.

It's not entirely clear which of those claims was made pre vs post-employment.

 

[greatkingrat]

The idea of charity fundraising being covered by an NDA is rather odd, surely the whole point is to make as many people aware as possible to maximise donations.

 

[EYFanatic]

The idea of charity fundraising being covered by an NDA is rather odd, surely the whole point is to make as many people aware as possible to maximise donations.

NDAs in charity groups is not common but not unknown when dealing with very high sums donated - WWF-UK do it quite a bit as does Cancer Research UK. They also are used when merging charities or when several groups are planning a combination effort

 

[gg1]

Two robbers bicker in fake scouse accents to confuse shop keeper

https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/04/two-robbers-bicker-fake-scouse-accents-confuse-shopkeeper-29292547/

Two thieves were filmed on CCTV arguing over who would carry their loot, using fake names and Scouse accents to confuse the shopkeeper they had targeted.

Stephen Bradley, 56, and David Oakley, 48, burst into Maddy’s Store in New Mills, Derbyshire, on November 26, 2025, wearing balaclavas and threatening a shopkeeper with a knife and a fake gun.

The pair demanded cash from the till before making off with £4,000 worth of cigarettes, £200 in cash and nine bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

But instead of making a clean getaway, the masked raiders started bickering over who would carry the loot.

As a finishing touch, one of them is wearing that extremely popular Liverpudlian attire, a Man United scarf.

 

[Trackman]

calm down, calm down, bizzies will be here in a minute

 

[brad465]

LMAO:

Council apologises after ‘unfortunate’ placement of Dead End sign near cemetery

It was originally thought to be the doing of a local prankster

www.independent.co.uk

Caption: The sign placement was originally thought to be the doing of a local prankster (BNPS)

A council has apologised after a temporary ‘Dead End’ sign was placed next to a road leading to a cemetery.

The “unfortunate” placement of the sign on a street corner had caused a stir in the market town of Wimborne, Dorset.

Given that there are road works and closures in the area, it was originally thought to be the doing of a local prankster.

However, Dorset Council have now confirmed that the sign next to Cemetery Road was put there intentionally by one of their workers.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Aug 2026 ==

"Dobby never meant to kill the project, Dobby only meant to maim or seriously disrupt it"

Harry Potter fans force power link diversion to avoid Dobby's grave

Potter fans complained after a project manager suggested cables would go under the grave in a BBC interview.

www.bbc.co.uk

Harry Potter fans succeeded in diverting a multimillion-pound power link between the UK and Ireland after they complained it would disturb a "memorial" to Dobby the House Elf.

The £430m Greenlink interconnector links the National Grid to Ireland via 125-mile cable between County Wexford and Freshwater West, a beach in Pembrokeshire where the death of fictional character Dobby was filmed in the Potter films.

Project manager Simon Ludlam told the Energy Revolution podcast the cable was originally "going to go straight through" the tribute, before fans began leaving his firm "hundreds of calls".

"Actually we went quite close to some real Bronze Age remains, but we avoided Dobby's grave," he said.

 

[styles]

"Dobby never meant to kill the project, Dobby only meant to maim or seriously disrupt it"

Harry Potter fans force power link diversion to avoid Dobby's grave

Potter fans complained after a project manager suggested cables would go under the grave in a BBC interview.

www.bbc.co.uk

In semi related news...

JK Rowling seems to be obsessed with me, says Nicola Sturgeon

The Harry Potter author has been a vociferous critic of the former first minister.

www.standard.co.uk

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Harry Potter author JK Rowling is “obsessed” with her.
Ms Sturgeon made the comments during an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, just a day after the author’s most recent criticism.

In a post on X, Ms Rowling described the former SNP leader as a “world-class misogynist” and “profoundly disloyal” to her party following criticism of its election campaign in a new foreword for her book.

 

[High Dyke]

BBC News - Somerset farmer bride rides favourite cow to wedding - BBC News

Somerset farmer bride rides favourite cow to wedding

Victoria Lee wanted her favourite cow, White Chocolate Button, to deliver her to the church in Mark.

www.bbc.co.uk

Most brides arrive at their own wedding in a car but one Somerset farmer chose a different type of transport altogether last weekend - turning up to the church riding one of her own cows.

 

[EYFanatic]

In semi related news...

JK Rowling seems to be obsessed with me, says Nicola Sturgeon

The Harry Potter author has been a vociferous critic of the former first minister.

www.standard.co.uk

To be fair, Miss Sturgeon does share charitistics to Madam Umbridge

 

[Sun Chariot]

Luke / Francis popped onto my YouTube feed this morning. Nornally I ignore such things - but the sight and sound of the rail vehicle at the start, made me chucke. It is certainly not what I expected.

(Link sbows Red Bull's RB8 running on rails, on Madrid's metro railway. Yes, it really does)

 

[brad465]

I mean, I can't be the only one who wasn't aware of this until it was pointed out in this way:

Oxford United apologises for United 93 shirt advert

Oxford United apologises for the image, which features the call sign of one of the planes used in the 9/11 attacks.

www.bbc.co.uk

A football club has apologised after it published images of a new clothing line with "United 93" printed on the back - the call sign of one of the aircraft hijacked on 9/11.

The clothing was supposed to make reference to Oxford United's founding year of 1893.

However, it said it had been released "without understanding of the historical context and associations".

United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people on board after being hijacked on 11 September 2001. A docudrama film titled United 93 was made about the tragedy and released in 2006.

Oxford United was founded in 1893 as an amateur club called Headington and now plays in League One - the third tier of the English football pyramid.

In a statement, the club said its Campus Clothing range had been withdrawn and it "sincerely apologised" for the error.

"It should not have reached the point of sale and we take full responsibility for not undertaking proper due diligence," it said.

"We have removed the collection with immediate effect and are reviewing our approval processes to ensure nothing like this happens again."

The 9/11 attacks saw 19 Al Qaeda members hijack four commercial passenger planes in the US.

Two of them were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, resulting in them both collapsing.

Another plane struck the Pentagon, near Washington DC, while the fourth plane - United 93 - crashed in rural Pennsylvania. It was believed to be destined for the US Capitol Building, also in Washington DC.

The attacks killed 2,977 people and injured tens of thousands more.

 

[4COR]

I mean, I can't be the only one who wasn't aware of this until it was pointed out in this way:

Oxford United apologises for United 93 shirt advert

Oxford United apologises for the image, which features the call sign of one of the planes used in the 9/11 attacks.

www.bbc.co.uk

Placing hand up that I didn't hear about that either until it was on the local radio this evening!

 

[styles]

I mean, I can't be the only one who wasn't aware of this until it was pointed out in this way:

Oxford United apologises for United 93 shirt advert

Oxford United apologises for the image, which features the call sign of one of the planes used in the 9/11 attacks.

www.bbc.co.uk

I actually watched a couple of 9/11 documentaries a few nights ago and I had to read the article to understand why the shirt was actually a problem.

 

[najaB]

I actually watched a couple of 9/11 documentaries a few nights ago and I had to read the article to understand why the shirt was actually a problem.

Indeed, it's one of those things that means a lot to people who were directly affected and next to nothing to anyone else. In the same way that "The 96" would be instantly triggering to some from Liverpool and leave others clueless.

 

[edwin_m]

Indeed, it's one of those things that means a lot to people who were directly affected and next to nothing to anyone else. In the same way that "The 96" would be instantly triggering to some from Liverpool and leave others clueless.

Similarly for me, but I would have thought putting the text into Google first would be a routine action for people producing such items.

 

[styles]

Conversely I am surprised this gaffe over at Converse should've been pretty obvious:

Converse pulls 'deeply upsetting' advert after backlash

Social media users say an image from the brand's Instagram account resembled a KKK hood and hanging.

www.bbc.co.uk

American footwear brand Converse has pulled an advert that social media users said evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery, saying it recognised "that we got this wrong".

The photo, posted to the company's Instagram account, received backlash online after critics described lighting in the image as looking like a white pointed hood.

A pair of shoes, dangling in the picture, were also likened to an image of a lynching victim by social media users.

In an apology, first issued on Friday, Converse said the photo had been removed from its social media channels and it was working to remove it elsewhere. "This should not have happened and we will do better," it said.

 

[EYFanatic]

Conversely I am surprised this gaffe over at Converse should've been pretty obvious:

Converse pulls 'deeply upsetting' advert after backlash

Social media users say an image from the brand's Instagram account resembled a KKK hood and hanging.

www.bbc.co.uk

Ouch...

If I had been the marketing bloke there, I'd have put a firm no on that one right away

 

[brad465]

Reminds me of this gaffe from ASDA for the 2014 World Cup, where a wearable England flag looked like a KKK outfit:

https://news.sky.com/story/asdas-england-flag-looks-like-kkk-costume-10403080

(Image caption: The wearable England flag is still available on the supermarket's website)

Supermarket chain Asda has defended the sale of a wearable England flag which has been likened to a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

The St George's Flag, emblazoned with the word "England" and featuring a peaked white hood, sparked a social media storm when it went on sale in ahead of the World Cup in Brazil.


But a spokeswoman for Asda, which has priced the novelty garment at £3, said: "We opted for a hood... as you never know what the British weather will bring.

 

[AM9]

Reminds me of this gaffe from ASDA for the 2014 World Cup, where a wearable England flag looked like a KKK outfit:

https://news.sky.com/story/asdas-england-flag-looks-like-kkk-costume-10403080

Actually it looks ideal for a Reform rally.

 

[styles]

Reminds me of this gaffe from ASDA for the 2014 World Cup, where a wearable England flag looked like a KKK outfit:

https://news.sky.com/story/asdas-england-flag-looks-like-kkk-costume-10403080

The drag effect of England flags reminds me of this:

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Flag drag will boost fuel costs

Flag drag will boost fuel costs

The flags create drag which costs an extra pound an hour Patriotic drivers showing their support for England with window flags during the World Cup will pay more in fuel costs, an academic has claimed. An average car with two flags attached burns an extra litre of fuel per hour at an average of 70mph, said Manchester University's Dr Antonio Filippone. He also calculated that 500,000 drivers all doing the same will create 2.8m kg of carbon dioxide emissions. The extra fuel consumption is caused by the flags creating drag. Dr Filippone, of the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, carried out the research for a paper called "What is the fuel wastage from the flag on your vehicle?". He said: "The extra drag generated by these flags can reduce a car's fuel economy by up to 3% during a one-hour journey. "This may not seem significant to the individual, but if half a million cars are flying these flags we could see up to 1.22 million litres of extra fuel burned during the World Cup."

 

[Forty29]

Luke / Francis popped onto my YouTube feed this morning. Nornally I ignore such things - but the sight and sound of the rail vehicle at the start, made me chucke. It is certainly not what I expected.

(Link sbows Red Bull's RB8 running on rails, on Madrid's metro railway. Yes, it really does)

Probably a stunt for the Grand Tour in which Francis Bourgeois is a host now. See post # 2321 for the video.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Sunday at 19:20 ==

Oh it's on my post too!

 

[najaB]

An 82-year-old man has died after getting into a fight with a man in his 70s over a sunlounger on a beach in Greece, local media is reporting.

Witnesses say a disagreement over the use of the loungers at Vouliagmeni beach, near Athens, escalated into a violent fight, which then further spiralled to involve other people.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqm27pnyd294o

I guess it is true that age doesn't equal wisdom!